McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet: An insight into the design, construction and operation of the US Navy's supersonic, all-weather multi-role combat jet (Owners' Workshop Manual)

Never bought a HAYNES book that disappoints. I have created an impressive library of the HAYNES aircraft books that will make a nice reference in the future when these planes are eventually retired. Being not the best of a focused reader the many photos found in every HAYNES manual make it a bit easier to digest the information.

Very thorough review of this program. Long after it replaced the A-7 and F-4, it also outlived the F-14. I have these models before the Super sitting on my bookcase of 1/72nd which are mostly USMC. Now here is the update to the E/F models as well as the "Growler I have in plastic unbuilt.

Haynes' "workshop manuals" on modern combat aircraft tend to be a bit of a mixed bag. About half are pretty solid technical references with excellent diagrams and detailed "behind the scenes" details. The other half tend to be shallow puff pieces with lots of pretty pictures, but very little depth. Thankfully, this book leans closer to the former. It offers a pretty well-rounded overview of the Hornet and Super Hornet (although the emphasis is definitely less on the "legacy" Hornets, and more on the E and F models), with a fairly good-sized helping of technical detail, plenty of great photographs, and some interesting first-hand accounts.The early chapters include a brief look at aircraft's development from the YF-17 to the EA-18G, descriptions of the different variants and major upgrades, and an overview of international operators which lists each operational Hornet squadron. After a brief overview of the type's combat record, we get to the meat of the book. There's some fairly in-depth descriptions of the aircraft's systems, including the hydraulics, landing gear, flight controls, avionics, and ejection seat. The General Electric F414 gets its own chapter, which describes the digital engine controller, fuel system, automatic engine control, and so on. There's also a chapter on weapons and sensors, which unfortunately is a bit brief.The final three chapters are written by former and present Hornet operators - pilot CDR Jason 'Tike' Gustin, USN, Crew Chief Sgt Daniel Pare, RCAF, and an anonymous Weapons System Operator with the callsign "ShWRECK." These chapters are filled with interesting details of day-to-day Hornet operations, and will probably be the more interesting to casual Hornet buffs, than to people looking for raw technical details.Although I enjoyed this book, I enjoyed Steve Davies' previous "manual" on the F-15 a bit more. That book felt a bit more focused, and had more technical details and diagrams (what can I say? I'm an airplane geek!). The oddest omission is a table covering F/A-18 production lots and blocks. Although page 32 mentions that the appendix includes one, it's conspicuously absent in the book "as published." I am, however, very pleased that this book includes a chapter written by a WSO, the absence of which I complained about in my review of the F-15 manual. Like a lot of Haynes books, this one isn't totally perfect, but if you have a serious interest in the F/A-18 or modern combat aircraft in general, it's worth owning.

The Author’s writing and podcast (10 Percent True) are masterpieces for any aviation enthusiast.

I enjoyed this book. Very well researched and organized. I served in the navy as an aircraft electrician from 83-07. I worked on equipment from the C/D and E/F models. I was sorry to see the Tomcat go in 06 but the Hornet is just that good especially when it comes to mean time between failures (mtbf) for unscheduled maintenance .

Great book! Great photos and good narrative!

Its very informative it tell you more about the diferent types of f 18 i love it very much

Bought this for my son who wants to be an aerospace engineer. Wonderful schematics and information on the F-18. He has used it for class presentations and has studied it cover to cover. I used to have the Haynes manuals for my cars and still do. But with the digitizing of everything I feel they have become obsolete. This is a nice way to have something tangible to flip through, highlight, mark up and take notes in for anyone who loves these jets!

Excellent info and pictures. A really well put together book

So far the best of my many Hayne’s workshop manuals. Very well detailed technically, as well as historical description of the YF-17 the legacy Hornet as well as the Super Hornet.🐝

Un sacco di schemi e di disegni. Bellissimo

Un libro magnifico, contiene mucha información, desde historia, desarrollo, especificaciones y características, a misiones y escuadrones actuales.Ha sido de gran ayuda para realizar trabajos escolares.

Another fantastic offering for the mil av enthusiast by Steve Davies - Haynes has to be complimented for choosing a modern fighter - the author covers the topic in a typical Haynes structure - history & dev , Genesis of the Super Hornet , Anatomy , Engines , Firepower - the book's USP are the accounts at war , overseas operators , flying and ops and Maintaining the Canadian Hornets with plenty of technical drawings from the manual and colour pics - some taken by the author himself in the WSO seat ..While classified information is excluded - there is plenty to excite the enthusiast.